St. Patrick’s Day is an enchanted time – a day to begin transforming winter’s dreams into summer’s magic.
~Adrienne Cook
Rush to your local library and check out the following books just in time for St. Patrick’s Day.
It’s time to get your Irish on. 🙂
You and your kids will love the following books.
1. The Night Before St. Patrick’s Day
by Natasha Wing (Author), Amy Wummer (Illustrator)
This is a #1 best seller on Amazon. Naturally, it is fiction. It is a fun book that puts a twist on the Christmas classic: T’was The Night Before Christmas. Two kids stay up all night setting leprechaun traps. In the morning, they wake up to bagpipes and green eggs. It is just the type of shananigans that make kids laugh and smile while reading. 🙂 Read this book to find out if they catch a leprechaun.
2. Patrick: Patron Saint of Ireland
by Tomie dePaola (Author)
Tomie dePaola has always been one of my favorite authors for children. I love his illustrations which he does himself. If you look carefully, you can find a heart on almost every page.♥
This book is nonfiction. It is the story of Patrick’s life. He was born in Britain, a noble birth, then taken to Ireland. This book includes many legends including getting rid of all the snakes in Ireland.
Jamie O’Rourke and the Big Potato (An Irish Folk Tale) By Tomie DePaola- I’ve read this story year after to year to children. They delight in this story. I like it because it is a folk tale. I think folk tales, fairy tales, and fables are rich in language and life experiences. We learn a lot from them. (Shhh. I added this book which is really an 8th book, because of my love for Tomie Depaola and children like this story.) The story begins like this: “Jamie O’Rourke is the laziest man in all of Ireland.” As luck would have it, he comes upon a leprechaun. Read to find out what happens. 🙂
3. St. Patrick’s Day
By Gail Gibbons
Gail Gibbons is another one of my favorite authors for children. She delightfully details nonfiction into interesting stories filled with facts and color. Children never get tired of her books; in fact, neither do I.
In this book, Gibbons tells the story of St. Patrick’s life and gives information about how St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated. Parades, shamrocks, shillelaghs, legends, and the Emerald Isle all unfold when this story is told. 🙂
4. St. Patrick’s Day Alphabet
(No list is complete without an alphabet book, right?)
In this book, each letter of the alphabet presents something about St. Patrick or the holiday.
5. The Story of Saint Patrick’s Day Board book
This book made the list because it is a board book. I love these types of board books. It is appropriate for toddlers and preschoolers. It has too many words for babies.
The story begins with traditional symbols of St. Patrick’s Day such as shamrocks, harps, and leprechauns. It moves to a biography of St. Patrick who is a shepherd, missionary, and teacher. It is filled with traditional pictures of Ireland.
6. St. Patrick’s Day Countdown Board Book
by Salina Yoon
This treasure is colorful and filled with iconic symbols for traditional St. Patrick’s Day. It is a counting book that is appropriate for babies, toddlers, and preschoolers with rhyming text. It is filled with shimmery, bright green holographic pictures.
7. That’s What Leprechauns Do
by Eve Bunting
To me, no St. Patrick’s Day book list is complete without the mischief makers, leprechauns. 🙂
“What do leprechauns do? They bury a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, of course. But as Mrs. Bally Bunion’s ox, Miss Maude Murphy’s hen, and Old Jamie soon find out, they can’t resist having a little fun along the way. For, besides burying pots of gold, mischief is what leprechauns do!”
I hope you enjoy these books with your children. I leave you with an Irish blessing.
May your blessings outnumber
The shamrocks that grow,
And may trouble avoid you
Wherever you go.
~Irish Blessing
Was this list helpful? Do you have a favorite St. Patrick’s Day book? I’d love to know. Leave a comment.
Let’s make a positive difference~ one word at a time.
♥Pamela
Please share this article with others that you think would benefit from these tips. Also, please ask any questions that you may have about teaching children reading or writing. Leave your questions in the comments. I’ll answer. 🙂
To learn more about Literate For Life, see the welcome post.
Also, if you’d like to get more helpful posts like this delivered to your e-mail, please be sure to subscribe to the list. See the blue box labeled “subscribe” on the top of the right side bar. This is free, and I promise not to send spam. I look forward to you becoming part of our community.
(Disclaimer: The 7 top books are my opinion. They are my top 7 picks. Also, no affiliates.)
Photo Credit: amazon.com
Leave a Reply to Marjorie (MWD) Cancel reply